Jan. 5, 2009
DAVIS, Calif. - In some ways, the 2008 UC Davis women's gymnastics season was too short.
The Aggies struggled early in the season, failing to crack the 191-point barrier in all but one meet. The team found its stride in late February with 192-plus scores in three straight meets. Soon after, UC Davis posted a 194.275 in the regular-season finale, then followed that with a school-record 194.700 to capture the program's first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation team championship.
But at that point, save for three individuals participating at the NCAA West Regional, the season was over.
Now, just weeks away from launching the 2009 season, third-year head coach John Lavallee is confident that a full year of experience, the leadership of team captains Andi Dolinsky and Adee Schoffman, and the meet-readiness his team showed in its December intrasquad meet will help allow the Aggies to chase the feeling of last year's stretch run.
"The team laughed at me 12 months ago because I said we were very green," said Lavallee. "When we traveled the first part of the season, we had one senior, one junior and 10 freshmen and sophomores. So we took our lumps early on."
According to Lavallee, the team truly began its maturation process following its home loss to Cal State Fullerton. His squad became much more team-oriented, and demonstrated a greater emphasis on increasing its overall performance levels.
"This year, they're back and they're not green anymore," said Lavallee. "They understand what they need to do to be where they want to be. You can see it in their approach and in the way they train. Our captains' number-one goal was to get that mindset back as soon as possible, and we went right to work in the fall to create it."
The Aggies their gym culture on display during the intrasquad meet, in which Lavallee not only saw talent across the board, but a significant amount of depth at each event. "Having had the opportunity to see our team in the intrasquad, I would say our outlook is extremely optimistic. This is not only a talented group, but an extremely motivated one. When things were a little bit off, they pulled it back in. They showed a lot of dogged determination, and I think it's a result of our depth. Everyone is fighting for a spot in the lineup."
SENIORS
Captains Dolinsky and Schoffman are the only two fourth-year letterwinners on the 2009 squad, replacing Carrie Lujan and MPSF Co-Gymnast of the Year Michelle Kulovitz as team captains. Dolinsky was selected as the conference's Gymnast of the Year and earned an individual at-large berth at the NCAA West Regional in 2007, but suffered an early-season injury last year. Due to a granted medical hardship waiver, she returns to the scene to contribute on bars and floor.
Schoffman emerged as a two-event contributor in 2008, earning All-MPSF honors on floor exercise then capturing the conference title in that event with a 9.825 at the MPSF Championships. She also saw signification action on vault, scoring 9.650 marks in her last three meets. Schoffman will provide her skill in those two events in 2009, although her fall season suggests that she's ready for more: she hit 4-for-4 in the intrasquad meet in early December.
Katie Reinhardt and Kayla Koch also enter their fourth years in the program, although each bear junior eligibility status. Reinhardt made a courageous return to gymnastics after sitting out the entire 2007 season due to shoulder surgery. Unfortunately, she suffered an season-ending injury early in the 2008 campaign. Koch, who redshirted in 2006, saw most of her action in exhibition last year. She has been quite impressive on floor exercise, and looks to bolster that lineup in the upcoming season.
JUNIORS
Arguably at the top of UC Davis' sizable third-year class of veterans are NCAA West Regional qualifiers Tanya Ho and Lida Gehlen. Ho has garnered a total of seven All-MPSF awards in her two years, while becoming the first Aggie all-arounder to advance to the region meet since Ericka Ruelas and Flora Bare in 2001. Gehlen, the two-time defending MPSF champion on uneven bars, posted the program's best-ever individual finish at last year's regional, placing in a tie for third. For the year, she finished the year with a 9.840 RQS, best in the conference and tied for 11th in the West. Both gymnasts took to lead the Aggies in those same capacities, with Gehlen also becoming a potential threat on vault and floor.
Several other Aggie juniors flourished down the stretch of the 2008 season and look to pick up where they left off in the upcoming year. Michelle Bobonski shared the MPSF individual vault title with a 9.800 at the conference championships and was an alternate to the NCAA West Regional in that event. Kendall McCann captured All-MPSF status on balance beam and was one of three Aggies to compete in all 13 meets on uneven bars. Eve Hui saw action on beam in seven meets, most notably in a pinch-hitting performance at Seattle Pacific. In that road dual, she was summoned without warmup to replace Kulovitz, then responded with a season-best 9.750. Christine Tao made the beam lineup in all 13 meets, finishing the year as the MPSF co-champion with a career-high 9.800 in the conference meet.
SOPHOMORES
The 2009 sophomores represent Coach Lavallee's first full recruiting class, and the group did not disappoint in its first year with the Aggie program. Stacey Nicolini picked up three All-MPSF awards, including a nod in the all-around. As such, she was the team's workhorse: the former Rohnert Park Gymnastics standout competed in all 13 meets on vault and beam, plus 12 appearances on bars and eight on floor. Expect her to provide solid scores in at least three events, with hopes to join Ho as a regular all-around performer.
Marcy Miller also earned All-MPSF honors on vault, posting the team's most consistent numbers in the event. She will continue to boost the vault squad, while returning to the balance beam form that brought a 9.825 in last year's season opener. Ashley Lachman made the All-MPSF list on floor exercise, helped by a 9.725 in the second half of the season. Another sophomore, Michele Hurlock, provided a glimpse of her potential when her 9.850 on beam shared first place during a tough quad meet with Stanford, San Jose State and Causeway Classic rival Sacramento State.
Unfortunately, the Aggies may have to wait a little longer to see what Jessica Rea can bring to the program. She sat out the 2008 season due to injury, then re-aggravated the ailment during the fall workouts. Hopefully, Rea can return to action soon enough to exhibit the skills that helped her star at Cherry Hill Gymnastics Academy in New Jersey.
FRESHMEN
The four newcomers wasted no time in assimilating with Lavallee's gym culture, although their respective club backgrounds prepared them well for collegiate gymnastics. Erika Van Dyke competed for Stoyan Deltchev then more recently Byers Gymnastics, qualifying for the national meet as an all-arounder in her first year at Level 10. Jennifer Mueller arrives to the program from Bay Aerials Gymnastics, where she was a state champion on floor in 2007. Chantel Hibbard represents Southern California, arriving from the same Kips Gymnastics club as Reinhardt. She won Southern California beam titles in both 2007 and 2008. Betsy Lim, whose Shoreview, Minn. upbringing makes her the second out-of-state member of the team (along with Rea), was a two-time regional qualifier for Midwest Gymnastics before illness and injury interrupted her career.
SCHEDULE
UC Davis finished 49th (192.680) in the final national RQS leaderboard last season, and looks to move up in those rankings as it pursues a goal of becoming a regular regional qualifier. As such, the 2009 slate features several programs with similar RQS figures, including Cal State Fullerton (193.180), California (193.085), New Hampshire (193.895) and Bowling Green (193.330); plus two schools that just made the regional cut in San Jose State (193.850) and Sacramento State (193.575). The Aggies also get an opportunity to face two of the best West Region teams, taking on Stanford and Oregon State in a triangular meet on February 15.
The Aggies open the 2009 season this Saturday, competing in a three-team meet with Sacramento State and California.
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